Agenspraec
Agenspraec is an ancient Wolfblood language and script dating back to the Dark Ages (410-1066AD), if not earlier. It is known from an incription found on a horn commemorating the Battle of Badon (fought around 500AD) against the "Saesons" (Anglo-Saxons, i.e. the first English), which is read by Ceri in The Dark Ages. The horn itself is not dated, so its closeness to the Battle of Badon is uncertain, and may be from centuries after. "Saeson" ''is the only confirmed word known to be in Agenspraec, and is identical to ancient Welsh, Cornish and Cumbric terms for the English, though as a clear borrowing of the English word "Saxon" this reveals little about the origins of the language for certain. Origins of the Language The term "Agenspraec" itself is seemingly Old English (spoken c. 500-1100AD), from the roots ''agen (own, one's own) and spraec ''(speech, language), therefore meaning "own speech". This suggests that it is an 'endonym' (named by its speakers, an ancient Wolfblood culture, and not by foreigners), though it is not necessarily the name of the language ''in Agenspraec itself, and may be a later Old English name given after these Wolfbloods began speaking Old English. There are three possibilities for the origins of Agenspraec: # A Brittonic Celtic language, and a relative of Welsh. Ceri mentions these Wolfbloods fought alongside the native Britons in the Battle of Badon, meaning it is most likely that Agenspraec was a Celtic language, and specifically a Brittonic Celtic language (thereby a close relative of modern Welsh). Agenspraec may have simply been a dialect of Common Brittonic, which was the language spoken by the native Celtic Britons during this time and is the ancestor of Welsh, Cornish and Cumbric (but not Irish or Scottish Gaelic, which are more distant Celtic languages called 'Goidelic Celtic'). The word "S''aeson''" is identical to Common Brittonic and Old Welsh terms for an English person, and the Wild Wolfbloods are frequently shown to speak Welsh amongst each other, showing a clear cultural relation to the ancient Celts. # A Germanic language, and a relative of English. A less likely alternative is that the word "Agenspraec" is indeed in its own language, which would make the langauge a close relative of Old English, with origins after the Anglo-Saxon conquest rather than before it. Since the Celtic word Saeson ''is itself a corruption of the Germanic word ''Seaxan ''(through its Latin form, ''Saxon), it is possible that the similarity to Welsh is a coincidence or a Celtic loanword. # A language isolate, related to no modern language. It is also possible that this language has no relation to either the Celtic or Germanic cultures, and may have some extremely ancient origin preceding even the Celts. This would not be without precedent, since it is suggested that Pictish (a mysterious language spoken in the Highlands of Scotland in ancient times, before the arrival of the Scots) may have also been a language isolate too. This would also make the word Saeson's similarity to Welsh a coincidence, or a Celtic loanword. Deciphering the Script Aside from the spoken language itself, there is also unique written script, designed to be carved (like runes). As of yet there has been no success in deciphering the script written on the horn or finding the exact words of the inscription. Attempts should focus on finding words mentioned by Ceri about it, such as Saeson ''(especially the reoccurring 'S's) or ''Badon. The Battle of Badon In legend, the Battle of Badon (occurring sometime around 500AD) was a decisive victory won by the native Britons over the invading Germanic peoples (Anglo-Saxons), stalling the Anglo-Saxon conquest for some decades (see interactive map). The principle source is the monk Gildas, who was born in the same year of the battle. His writings describe a period of great and bloodthirsty success for the Anglo-Saxons, when their raids reached all the way to the western shores of Britain. After this, the armies of many native British kingdoms allied together and were led into battle at Mount Badon by ''Ambrosius Aurellianus ''(Ambrose Aurellian), who in Arthurian legend is often named as an uncle of King Arthur. The British Isles during the time of the Battle of Badon (source): Blue: settled by Brittonic Celtic states. Green: settled by Germanic states. Category:Wolfblood Category:Wolfblood History Category:Wolfblood Culture Category:Wild Wolfblood